Daddy's Little Girl
by FrostbittenDeath
Summary: Nikki Sakaguchi, a young middle school girl, was sexually molested by her father five years ago. Desperate for help, she summons Hell Girl to send her father to the depths of Hell? Can she summon the courage to do it or will the past take control?
1. I

**Hell Girl:  
****Daddy's Little Girl**

"_Your name?"_

"_Nikki Sakaguchi."_

"_Is what he did to you so horrible?"_

"_Yes. He stole something I can never get back. He ruined my life! It's unforgivable!"_

"_Your wish?"_

"_Banish him to Hell for me. Please!"_

"_Your grievance shall be avenged."_

* * *

Red rose petals scattered upon a tiled floor; candlelight illuminating gently under a faded fluorescent light bulb; the smell of lemon-scented perfume hovering in the air; bubbles breaching the sliver-lined bathtub; how perfect this was for him. Ryan Watashisho, an average, everyday working man in mid-eastern Tokyo for a law firm – hair gussied up at every opportunity, pattered business tie, collared undershirt, and very boring and unconventional – was also a very profitable family man. He loved his wife, Hayumi, and their dear child, Nikki, very much. However, being unable to support themselves financially was a burden that he openly took responsibility for. A lack of food, barely any clean clothes to wear, dry in Hayumi's savings account, he took full responsibility for these consequences; but he knew that, thankfully, their poverty stint was about to come to a foreseen conclusion. "Hayumi, you can come in now," he called into the dark hallway.

From the assumable end of the dark hallway that was the master bedroom, there came into a middle-aged woman in a plain white t-shirt and simple polka-dotted shorts, jet black hair hanging down her back, messy with split ends all over. A tear fell from her face that appeared cold and void of life or compassion. "Can't we do this some other way? This is so wrong?" she said, voice cracking somewhat. Hayumi was a woman who stuck stubbornly to moral values and principles. Part of a social service group that vowed to assist teens and children through various life struggles, her job was time-consuming, but heartwarming to lead these kids down the correct path. She could already tell that a new mission was about to bore itself to the surface.

"No, Hayumi. You know that we're suffering financially, and unless we get this rent paid, then we'll get thrown out in the streets. We'll have to home school Nikki, and I know that you don't want that," he argued. "I'm already working two jobs in order to provide, and I'm hardly making ends meet. They might fire me from one job because I'm slacking; and I have reason to. Trust me. This is the only way."

"But..."

"Don't argue with me, Hayumi! I have to do this. _We _have to do this."

_Great. The "we" prefix again, _she thought. Ryan was infamous for using the "we"prefix around the apartment. Every time that something had to be done as a team, like their marriage, he'd always insinuate that something was wrong and in order to repair, "we" had to do it. 'We have to do it together; we can't give up hope; we have to keep trying' and so on. If there was anything she had the opportunity to change about her workaholic husband, that we prefix would be the first on the list. What he was about to perform wasn't something that "they" had to do. He could do this alone if he wanted. How could he sink this low? She'd divorce him in the blink of an eye right now, but she was trapped in limbo between Ryan and Nikki. "Don't say that."

"Hayumi, what else am I supposed to do?"

She couldn't bring herself to answer that. In her mind, there were thousands, maybe even millions, of other things he could've done to earn money to pay the rent, but saying them would've probably either gotten her slapped or Ryan leaving her on the spot. Of course, she'd prefer the latter. Solemnly, she agreed with him and shed more tears from her aquamarine eyes. With enormous regret, she dropped her hand to the ground and lowered her head in shame.

Out of the shadows came a young pigtailed girl dressed in nothing but a yellow tank top and tapered socks. The radiance of her skin, clear and shiny, brought an strange aura about Ryan. A perfectly strapping, innocent seven-year-old prepubescent child standing there in front of him, open and available. Hayumi held her hands close to her chest, shivering like a dried leaf in the wind, in fear and unwavering anticipation of justice. Ryan stared blankly at her, knowing what he had to do, but somewhere deep inside this was wrong. How could he do this to his own daughter? This was worse than murder. Worse than larceny. _There's no other way, _he thought. He bottled up all his fears and regrets, mentally preparing himself. Straight ahead was the only way to go. Not backwards, not sideways, not even forward crookedly, but straight forward. Then he proceeded to remove his shirt, pants, and socks. In seconds, he was completely naked. He then picked up a video camera and leaned it against the lintel. Lucky for him, it was already recording.

Hayumi couldn't stand to watch this. Her entire soul shook violently. How he was touching her...moving around her...it was all so horrible! Right now, at this very moment in time, she hated the very fabric of her husband's being. The darkness around them engulfed her, chewed her up, and spat her out. Even if the sun was shining on her, she'd still feel incredibly cold, vacant like a dead spirit. Was this what their family was reduced to? She refused to accept that.

_~5 years later, Yaomi Middle School~_

"Okay, so if you take 24 and multiply it by 7, then divide it by 3½, what do you get?" a young, stalwart teacher asked his students.

"48!" a male student darted out from the back of the class, hand hovering over his neatly conditioned brown hair and pressed button-up shirt and tie.

"That's correct, Iiachi."

Iiachi Kakamodo was just one of many brilliant minds at Yaomi Charter Middle School. A charter school in the middle of Tokyo with one of the highest graduation rates in the area – the system purposely oversaturated the graduation term to make it seem more authentic that students are excelling towards higher education when they are really just advancing to the next grade level – only some of the brightest children were accepted through the school's authenticity process where the enrolling students, usually about five hundred at a time, had to take a test measuring their knowledge of basic Japanese culture. Iiachi was one of the Top 10 students with a final score of 98.6%. One of the people to surpass him was Nikki Sakaguchi, a young girl who enrolled about the same time he did. She was a genius, he wasn't ashamed to admit, but she acted very reticent during class and away from class. Maybe she was still new to the school, maybe she didn't like talking to the students. She usually sat in the back of the class or silently near the window. But whatever the reason, he hoped that she'd break out and engage in conversations.

Just then, the clock hit 12:00 and the bell rang in response. Students jumped from their seats and raced to the door. "All right, class! Don't forget about your homework. Remember: Pages 34-35, numbers 1-20. I want to see your work when you come back! Due tomorrow!" the teacher yelled over the stampede of students zooming through the door. He'd never seen students so eager to leave Math. He chuckled to himself a bit before returning to his cluttered workspace to grade last night's homework. Suddenly, there came the creak of a chair. He looked up and saw Nikki packing her belongings. "Nikki, you're still here?"

Embarrassed, she lowered her notebook. "I'm sorry, Mr. Mananko. I was just getting my stuff. I'm leaving now."

"No, stay. Besides, I'd like to speak with you."

Was she in trouble? If so, he had a good reason to speak with her. What he was probably going to say wouldn't surprise her in the slightest: "_[insert student name], you're a very bright student. You used to do so well in this class. Now your grades are steadily declining. Would you mind telling me what's the problem?" _She approached him with her notebook hugging her side. She prepared herself for a lecture.

"Nikki, you're a very bright student. You used to do so well in this class. Now your grades are steadily declining. Would you mind telling me what's the problem?" he asked.

Just as she thought. He always said that to every student who isn't doing good in his class. It was practically the only combination of words he used to express his concern with those students. What a means of consolation that was. If that was the case, she didn't at all feel better. "Well, Mr. Mananko, I...um...I've just been having some problems at home. I don't have to tell them to you, do I?" she assumed nervously.

"No, no," he chuckled. "You don't have to if you don't want. Those matters are confidential. I'm not a police officer who's going to violently interrogate you."

She forced a little smirk and a laugh.

"But I would just like to encourage you to resolve those problems that are hurting your grades. You're one of my best students, but you have to do better than you are now. I could allow you to redo last night's homework and give you full credit, but you'd have to do really well on tonight's homework. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. You go on to your next class, Nikki. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mr. Mananko," she bowed before grabbing the rest of her materials and exiting the classroom. She knew that he had positive intentions to making her feel better about herself, but he had no right to assume that she had something happening at home that was a direct result of her slipping grades. Just thinking about it made her spirit wane. Home. Uttering that word brought a cringing pain to her stomach. That was no home, but a lifeless prison. It unlocked memories of dreadful peculiarity that she just wished would go away forever. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in shock and turned her head. "Oh. It's only you, Iiachi," she smiled.

"Yeah. Who else could it have been?" he joked.

She laughed a bit. Iiachi was one of the students she could trust her secrets with. He was a true friend who was always there for her. Even at night when she was walking home, he was right there on his bike, offering a ride. He was always available to talk to her about certain problems, but she couldn't find the courage to bring to him the _real_ reason for her shyness. Either way, seeing his face made her feel a little better before she died again at the end of the day. "So, what do you think about that homework? Hard, right?"

"Meh, a little. How about you?"

"I'm no good with fractions."

"I can help if you want. You don't mind if I come over to your house after school today, do you? My mom isn't going to be home until seven, so I can drop by and help you."

Oh, no. Was what he really suggesting true? Did he really plan on coming over to her single story house and help with her homework? No! That would monopolize everything! A small smile appeared on her face, but inside she was trembling, fearing the worst was yet to come. "Oh, no. You don't have to do that. I'll be fine."

"No, really. I'd be glad to help you," he insisted. "I saw you were having trouble with yesterday's homework. You were rushing to get it done."

Nikki knew he was right. She was a total slacker. After the assignment was given, she didn't even bother to do it. She tried to go home and do it, but her father was the only one home at the time. It didn't even matter if he was good with working with calculators and estimating numbers. There was no way in hell that she would even go near that man. Her mom was out doing her usual with her Tokyo Children & Teen Assistance Service, or T.C.T.A.S. With no bed to sleep in that night, she slept on a park bench. Thankfully it was nice and warm out. Then, realizing she was nearly late for English, she dashed 12 blocks from the park to Yaomi Charter and struggled to complete her Math homework before Third Period. As usual, she didn't finish in time and her work was sloppy. _What a day that was. _It would help if she didn't have another one. She scratched her head and laughed in agreement. "Yeah, I was, wasn't I? Wouldn't want that to happen again. I guess you can come over if you want, Iiachi."

"Cool! I'll see you after school, Nikki," he said as he turned the opposite direction and ran off to his next class.

"Great..." She sealed her fate now. She should've thought about what she said before actually saying it. That was an official invitation to her house to assist with her homework. Plus, if she was unlucky enough, he'd get to meet her parents. How horrible it was that she was inviting her best, and probably only, friend just to be driven back out. She could at least rationalize and say that her mom was easy to get along with. A lovely lady with a heart of gold, she could practically sense the quality of people by looking at them. For a while, she suspected her mother of having hidden powers. If so, then she'd willfully accept Iiachi as a friend of the family. Her father, however...

Just then, the bell rang long and loud. "Oh, no! I can't be late!" she cried out. Her next class was just up the stairs, and she couldn't miss it. If she did, that darn Kimchi would mock her for being a slowpoke again. More ridicule was the last thing she needed.

On the school benches, Nikki sat patiently waiting for her mother. Hopefully, Iiachi forgot about the plan about coming over to her house. Ten minutes had already flown past, her mom hadn't shown up, and Iiachi was nowhere in sight. She heaved a sigh of comfort when she saw a black 1995 Convertible pull up slowly onto the curb. Hayumi waved to her through the tinted windshield. She responded just the same. As soon as she rose, eagerly anticipating the ride back to the house with no father, a voice erupted in the background calling her name. _Iiachi..._she groaned inside. This was an incredible coincidence. As soon as her mother arrives, Iiachi is right there, ready to go. He must have talked to her mom before she came here and set this up. No way this would just happen at the exact same moment in time. A set up! Had to have been. "Oh, hey, Iiachi."

"Sorry I'm late, Nikki," he said, panting as sweat dripped from his face. "I got here as fast as I could. I just had to do some things for a friend."

_Really? _Do some things for a friend? His face was dripping with sweat. His whole body was soaking wet. She could even see some sweat sliding from underneath his shirt. What _was _he doing? Trucking a forklift? He couldn't stop panting like some thirsty dog. _What in the world were you doing, Iiachi?_

"Whoo!" he exclaimed, sweeping his forehead clean of sweat. "Is that your mom?"

"Yeah, that's her in the window."

Iiachi saw clearly through the thick windshield Mrs. Sakaguchi. She looked very cheerful and bustling with life. Such youthful decorations about her person like a ponytail hung over her shoulder, clear managed skin tone, a graphic tee just barely showing a logo of a Japanese kanji. What a lovely personification of youthful parenthood. She appeared much livelier than most mothers who became slaves to their children; yet this woman looked like a very independent woman with nothing to hide. If that was Nikki's mom, he couldn't help but introduce himself. He budged Nikki aside and approached Hayumi. "Hi, Mrs. Sakaguchi. My name is Iiachi Kakamodo, a friend of your daughter and a student here at Yaomi Charter," he politely introduced himself. A bit over-the-top, he had to admit, but he was introducing himself to his best friend's mother, for goodness sake. Like the very first interview, it had to be done right the first time.

"Nice to meet you, Iiachi. I'm Hayumi Sakaguchi. I can see you met my daughter," she smiled. Looking out the passenger window, she could see Nikki slowly approaching the passenger seat with her head buried beneath her patterned folder of her favorite manga, _Desu Desu Origami-sama! Otaku-Sensei!_She chuckled a bit. "She's a little shy."

"I've noticed. She shy in her classes, too."

Nikki buried her head in her folder even deeper. What was he doing telling her mother all this information? So embarrassing! _Oh, Iiachi... Just stop it!_

"But I actually came to ask if it was all right if I could come over to your house so I could help Nikki with her homework. We're doing fractions this week and she really needs help with it. I was just wondering if I could come over. My mom won't mind because she doesn't get home until seven tonight and my dad is never home," he smirked.

Given the information that was presented to Hayumi, he was a really nice boy. She'd happily invite him over, but first she needed to check the time. Looking at her radio, the clock read in electric green, 3:25 PM. _Ryan doesn't get home until about five or six on the dot. That should be plenty of time. _She couldn't have a boy like this running into a filthy man like that. It'd probably hurt her more than it would Nikki. _Perfect. _Her mind made up, she happily obliged and said, "Of course you can! Hop in!"

"Yes!" he exclaimed before hopping into the back seat of their wonderfully bumpy vehicle. He was absolutely surprised that Nikki's mom was so happy-go-lucky. Her personality was so jumpy, so out there, so alive. Not at all like his mother. His mom was such a wet blanket, never allowing any friends in the house, always away when he needed her, always complaining about completely trivial things like the weather or if there wasn't any mail for her – things she couldn't exactly control. If he had the choice to select another mom, or even a foster mom, Mrs. Sakaguchi would be his definite first pick. "Oh, and I saw that shirt that you're wearing. What does that mean? I don't believe I've seen that before."

"Oh, this kanji? It's actually a collage of a thousand different kanji symbols and letters. Together, it makes up the kanji for Life. I thought it was very powerful and gave me something to believe in. I bought it from this thrift store that was selling cool discount shirts 75% off, so I went there and purchased one for me and another for Nikki. She hasn't worn hers yet but, you know, she really should."

"She's right, Nikki. You should wear that shirt. It stands for something."

Did he really need to say anything? Couldn't they just have a normal quiet drive back to the house? She wasn't going to get that any time soon. All she could do was listen to them rattle on about their days and what they like to do in their spare time: make origami, read books, eat pancit, jog in the warm sunlight; couldn't it all just come to a halt until they got to the house? Not even five minutes in the car and she already wanted to make the decision to walk home. At least then she'd get some quiet. Sure it may have taken at least a half an hour from the school, but silence was golden as she was told. So was walking. Good for her cardio, which she needed more of anyway. Two things that were easily more enjoyable than all this chatter between Iiachi and her mom.

Just then, they came across a single story house. A simple white house with a shingled roof, one garage and a large yard with freshly cut grass. "Home sweet home," Hayumi said. As she pulled into the driveway, she sighed in relief. _No car in the driveway. Thank Christ._ Once they pulled into the driveway, Nikki jumped from the backseat and ran onto the patio and stood anxiously at the front door. "All right, calm down, Nikki! Ha, ha, ha!" She pulled a single key from her back pocket, slid it into the keyhole, turned, and CLICK! the door creaked open. "We only keep one key around the house. For privacy reasons," she told Iiachi as she watched him exit the car.

"Oh, I understand. Don't want any intruders to come in and steal stuff. Perfectly understandable why you'd want to have one key," he smirked. He waved his finger at her and laughed heartily. "I like you, Mrs. Sakaguchi."

"Oh, please. Just call me Mrs. S," she insisted as she led Iiachi in. What she liked about their single story house was that while it may have appeared as an ordinary home on the outside, it was incredibly luxurious on the inside. Glossy linoleum floor, hardwood kitchen floors that always appeared waxed, potted plants and scented candles hovered mesmerizing scents that hit visitors as they stepped in, a beautiful upstairs with four different rooms of dazzling variety for each member of the family: one for Nikki, one for Ryan, one for herself, and one for both Ryan and herself. That room was probably going to be redone for the family dog. They didn't own one, but in the future – it didn't hurt to plan ahead. "This is our house. See how it looks so much different inside?"

"I see," Iiachi said, awestruck by the magnificence of this ravishing interior. "This is amazing, Mrs. S. How did you do all this?"

"My husband, Ryan, works as a consultant at a law firm. He makes quite a large sum every year. Thanks to him, we're living in this "faux mansion," I call it. We make all the annual payments on gas, electricity, heat, and water. It's because of him and I must say..." She nodded her head. If there was one thing she ever learned from the 14 years of matrimony with Ryan Watashisho is how to stretch the truth. What was spoken was merely a half-truth. He did wholly assist in paying the bills on time. On the other hand, the lion's share of the money he earned to bail them out of that crappy apartment was something that she, herself, will regret for the rest of her days on this Earth. That part she couldn't reveal to Iiachi. His little heart would be crushed. So would Nikki's.

"That's so cool. Hey, Nikki. How about we get started on that homework, huh?"

"Okay!" she giddily stated. She raced up the stairs to her room. Iiachi followed close behind. The door shut behind them.

"So young. So innocent." How could she live with herself? What kind of mom would sell herself short like that for her husband? She didn't deserve this wonderful house. She didn't deserve that old car that, even after ten years, still runs like a charm. She didn't even deserve Nikki. Her whole world crumbled around her, slipping through her fingers like water. She couldn't stand to face the world with her deceitful tongue. She went to the padded armchair by the mini fireplace and cried. _What kind of mother am I?_

Upon entering Nikki's room, Iiachi thought he had entered into a warped world of warm colors. Shades of red, orange, yellow were everywhere, and they didn't exactly contrast well with the innumerable anime posters plastered on the walls and even the ceilings. He couldn't dare fathom this. He watched the occasional anime every now and again, but this was unfathomable that she had so many posters that couldn't be counted. They probably could, but the counter would more than likely lose track after the fiftieth poster of overexaggerated facial expressions. Regaining focus on the main objective, he sat down by Nikki's side and scanned over the assigned work. Oh, this is nothing new, he concluded. "Okay. This should be no problem at all. This week we're doing fractions with like and unlike denominators. Let's get the first problem down on the paper: three-sevenths plus four-sevenths. Now you see how the denominators here are the same, right?"

"Right."

"That's a seven, and this is a seven. That means they're like. If they're like, then you can just keep them the same and add the numerators. The numerator is the top number of the fraction, so you just add...and...see?"

She jotted down what he stated with careful precision not to mess up this incredibly simple equation. "Okay, so keep the denominators the same...and...add the numerators...you get...seven-sevenths."

"Or one."

"That was easy! I could've done that without you, ya' know. All you had to do was trust me," she chuckled, nudging him playfully.

"Heh! So do you think you can handle the next one on your own?"

"Sure can." Iiachi left her alone to work on the next few fractions in the book. As he was admiring some of the strange, bizarre anime posters around him, there came the sound of a car passing through. He looked out the window and saw silver car pull into their driveway. He turned around and told her that he saw a silver car pull into their driveway. "What?" Upon hearing those words, she jumped from her bedside and peered out the window. It couldn't be. He was home early? _No! _She screamed in her head. _Not now! Please God, not now! _"Iiachi, you can't be here! You have to leave now!"

"What do you mean? I just got here, Nikki."

"No, you have to leave right now! Here, take the window!"

He didn't quite understand what she wanted from him. First she agrees for an invitation to her house to assist with her homework, now she's demanding him to leave? He was ultimately confused about what to do, so he just assumed that he'd listen to her. Following her lead, he climbed down the window and landed in the bushes. Thankfully the tulips cushioned his fall. As he was leaving, he noticed the man, whom he assumed was her father, approaching the front door. Instinctively, he called and waved, "Hello, Mr. Sakaguchi," before down the street, vanishing in the distance.

He waved back out of the sheer kindness he had for visitors. That is, if he was informed. "Strange..." Uncaring about associations with those he didn't know, he approached the door and knocked it several times in a robotic rhythm.

Hayumi jolted forward from her melancholy episode and looked at the wall clock. Four o' clock on the dot! He wasn't supposed to come home this early! He was supposed to be back some time around seven or eight! If that clock was fast, it needed to be adjusted immediately because there was no possible way that man could have gotten off of work so damn early. Nikki was upstairs with Iiachi doing homework, nothing else! What if he walked in and he suspected something worse? No! All tot horrible to take in at one time! Trying to stall would just anger him, and trying to reason with Ryan was like talking to a brick wall. She had to give in and let him in. She knew in her heart letting him in would be just like letting in the Devil into the house. She prayed that the Devil had a heart. Upon approaching the door, she swallowed down an ocean of saliva, wrapped her hand around the knob and turned it. There he was, standing at the foot of the door, briefcase in hand. "Ryan, dear...you're home early."

"Yeah, I know. Work closed early today. Workers went on strike because they felt that they weren't getting enough pay compared with the amount of time they spent on the job. Because of that, work ended early today."

"I see. So how was your day otherwise?"

"Not bad. The drive was nice and pleasant. I got to work about an hour ahead of schedule, so I just sat in my car and listened to the radio. I've been doing so well at my job that they might actually think about promoting me," he explained, loosening himself of his suit and his suitcase. He plopped on the second arm chair and sighed. "This whole week has been work, work, work. But I've gotta be honest with you, it's been paying off. Living in this beautiful house, putting our darling Nikki through an actual school, it's just so great. And we did it together, you and me."

"No, Ryan," she countered. "You did. Not us. You."

"I can't take all the credit, sweet Hayumi-kun. You helped, and you know you did. This was a team effort. The two of us. Oh, and let's not forget about Nikki. By the way, where is she?"

Oh, God! Did he know she was home? She was peeking her head out, listening to the whole conversation going on by those two, that swindler of a father trying to trade-off some of the blame of the past by placing it on his own family. How low! She couldn't stand him! Just the fact that he lived in the same house as them was sickening to the stomach. No matter what, he couldn't let him see her. She didn't want to remember. She took herself and hid behind the door to avoid being spotted. He was wondering where she was. Hopefully, mom would make up a lie that she was still in school, involved in some afterschool program like Drama Club or the Anime Club. Whatever the case, anything would have sufficed to have her father stay worlds away from her.

Hayumi couldn't live with herself if he so much as looked at Nikki the wrong way, so it would've been better to make up a fib. "She's not home yet. She's still at school. She's getting tutoring after school to assist with her homework. Her math isn't all that great, so she's staying after school to have the teachers help her."

"Math homework? Please," he scoffed. "She wants some help, she should just ask me. I know quite a few about punching in numbers. But, oh well. Those teachers know best, don't they? Well, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up in about two hours so we can have dinner together as a family."

Dinner as a family? Has he completely lost every single shred of sanity in his brain? Was he purposely trying to drag their family deeper and deeper into a crater, the crater that he created five years ago? As she watched him climb up the stairs, she saw as he turned left towards his room. She sighed in relief as he didn't attempt to enter Nikki's room. That was the last thing she wanted. A pitch black void surrounded her world in black, just ready to swallow her along with it. There was nothing she could do at this point. If he insisted on having a family dinner, then it had to be done. There was virtually no escape plan for her this time around. With tears flowing from her face, she proceeded up the stairs herself and entered her daughter's room. There she saw her, balled up in the corner, crying endlessly. What a shameful mother she was. She wasn't anything but a whore. A filthy whore with her legs spread wide to receive Hell's punishment upon her dirty soul. She hated seeing her daughter's tears spill, but she enjoyed seeing hers. It showed her powerlessness, her weakness to a greater power that she hoped and prayed would bless them with a miracle that words could never, ever express. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Why...?" she blubbered. "Why is this happening to us? To me?"

"I don't know, sweetheart, but we'll make it out of this somehow. I promise with all my might, I'll find a way out of this torture," she broke. She fell on her knees and sobbed with Nikki. If God could allow them to cry forever, then tonight would be the greatest night of their lives.

_(End of Part I)_


	2. II

**Hell Girl:**  
**Daddy's Little Girl (pt. 2)**

Later that night, all three of them gathered around the living room dinner table, eating a simple meal of sushi and fish chips. Hayumi couldn't risk keeping quiet because Ryan probably wanted to know how her day at the T.C.T.A.S. was. "I'm glad your day went well, dear. My day wasn't all that bed, either. We were able to find homes for two children with foster parents today. They were very happy. You can probably guess that I was smiling all the way to my ear," she said, forcing a laugh. As she looked to her daughter who was scrounged tightly in her seat, trying so hard to avoid any form of conversation at the dinner table, she shook her head and sighed. _I know we're sitting at the same table as the man who ruined us as a family, but you have to at least pretend to be interested in the conversation. Please. For my sake, Nikki. _"So, Nikki, did you have a good day at school today?"

"Yeah," Ryan harped in. He looked over to his daughter while holding a piece of fish between his lips, looking like a regular do-good party man. "How was school? I don't think I've seen you up until dinner. Maybe mommy here forgot to pick you up, huh."

He wasn't talking to her. He couldn't have been talking to her. She was at the table with her mother and father, but she felt alone. Cold. Like nobody else was there. She was hearing things, voices that resembled so much her parents. All she wanted was for those voices to go away! Keeping her head buried under the table, she spoke softly, "Well, I told her that I was involved in an after-school program and she must have forgot to come and get me."

"Wasn't it tutoring for your homework?" Hayumi corrected her.

"R-right. It was tutoring, and you forgot to pick me up, so I had to walk. I tell you, Mr. Mananko is a smart teacher. He knew what he was talking about."

"Did he? I'll bet he's not as good with numbers as I am," Ryan bragged. "I probably could come over to your school one day, maybe tomorrow, and show those teachers a thing or two about numbers. What are you guys doing over there, anyhow?"

"Fractions."

"Fractions? That's it? Oh, God!" he burst into laughter, pieces of food flying from his mouth. "I may be a consultant at a law firm, but how do you think I got the job? I knew my digits and I understood how the formulas worked. Let me tell you, with me at the school, you'll be the smartest kid in the entire world! I can see it now: Nikki Sakaguchi, Valedictorian of Yaomi Charter Middle School in big, bold letters. How's that for a graduation package?"

"Fine..." she hardheartedly responded. She chuckled a bit with ambiguity in her voice before groaning a bit and sliding back underneath the table. Just the thought of her father, Ryan Sakaguchi, being at her middle school. She could just imagine him giving the children pointless lectures on spreadsheet tactics and how to solve equations involving trigonometry. Seven rose to the power of Y, square roots of impossible numbers such as 75,347, rounding to the nearest hundredth after finding the arc of a sphere X and Y distances apart; that alone was enough to bring her very existence to a sudden end. Looking out the draped window, she could see the moon. Full, large, bright; it was getting late. Looking at the wall clock, the little hand was nearing the twelve. _There we go..._ "May I be excused so I can go to bed? It's almost midnight."

Hayumi also peered at the clock and saw the big hand was moving rather fast. "You're right. See you in the morning, sweetheart," she said. She then got up and kissed Nikki on the forehead and sent her on her way. As she watched her gradually make her way up the stairwell towards her room, she moved back to her seat with her arms rested on her lap. "Ryan...we need to talk."

Continuing to indulge in his wife's simplistic yet fabulous cooking, he ignored her and kept scarfing down the sushi like a pig.

"Ryan..."

No response.

"Ryan Sakaguchi, stop stuffing your fat fucking face and listen to me!"

Shaken by Hayumi's sudden outburst, he stopped abruptly and put the plate down on the table. He folded his hands and looked at her with an equally as annoyed expression. "What is it, Hayumi? Why must you use such foul language? You're lucky Nikki didn't hear that."

"Shut up, you sad excuse of a man! Don't give me your bullshit, Ryan! Do you even care about what you did? About what you're doing? Do you?"

Ryan couldn't understand what it was she was telling him. No way she was making any sense. What he did? Bail them out of that horrible apartment building? What he'd been doing? Work his ass off for the family? Was she not grateful? He didn't comprehend her logic at all. "What are you saying? What I've been doing? You want me to lose my job?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Sakaguchi! You know what you did and you can't deny it! You knew how I was feeling. You knew full well that Nikki couldn't understand! How did you even get all that money in the first place? Did someone bribe you? Were you doing something else behind my back? Tell me the truth, Ryan! Why did you ruin the family?"

He shook his head and sucked his teeth. "Ruin this family. That's a heavy claim to put on me, isn't it, Hayumi? Come on. You know all that money came from honest-to-goodness blood, sweat, and tears. After all," – he rose from his chair, moved to Hayumi, and gently messaged her shoulders – "how could you possibly not be happy with this new life? You don't even have to lift a finger while I support the family. You even decided to call this place a faux mansion because it looks nothing like this on the outside. Come on, Hayumi-kun," he sweetly complimented her while he kissed her neck and face. "I try hard to keep this family on its feet. Trust me when I say that I have no regrets."

Nikki watched in agony as her father seduced her mother into submission. How his tongue slid sinfully up and down her neck; how he groped her breasts through her apron; how he kissed her passionately, yet how she felt no passion in any of it; she couldn't stand watching her mother give in like this. She closed her door and threw herself onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. If there was ever a moment where she needed a miracle, some kind of sign, some revelation of hope, now was the time for that moment to become real. Just then, several voices rang in her head. They sounded like school children from her school.

"_Hey, did you hear?"_

"_Hear what?"_

"_About this thing called the Hell Correspondents."_

"_I think I have. Legend has it that you can go to their website at midnight, insert the name of the person you want to send to Hell, and it'll happen."_

"_Yeah, right. I wonder who told ya' that?"_

"_Yeah, it's only a legend. Besides, what website has the power to send people to Hell, anyway?"_

"_Some website that sends people to Hell. Pfft! What a joke!"_

"_I'll bet it was made by someone who has nothing better to do in their spare time."_

Wait! She remembered last week some kids talking about that same exact thing. At this point, she'd be willing to accept help from anyone, even the Devil himself. If such a website really did exist, she had to find it, even if it meant staying up all night. Lucky for her, the clock had just struck midnight. Wasting no time, she rose from her bed and walked to her computer. As soon as she turned it on, there came a flame on the screen. Then appeared a box where she could type. Above that, there was a phrase that read in red letters, "Your grievance shall be avenged." Very apropo for a website with a URL listed as /. No way was this happening. She was seeing this, a website that actually could take retribution upon those who wronged you for them, with her own eyes. _How convenient,_ she thought. But she had to act fast. Midnight only lasted for so long. Upon typing in the name, "Ryan Watashinsho" and clicking the "send" button, the screen went black. She prayed that this response went through. Almost immediately, the screen glowed red with a black flame insignia. She assumed this meant the message went through and she was bound to get a response. Though she couldn't move the mouse and there was no inbox anywhere. The computer was frozen. "Maybe it doesn't exist. Maybe it _is_ just rumor after all," she concluded.

About ready to give up on finding true happiness through even her own tears, a young girl suddenly appeared in front of her. Nikki jumped back, grabbing the nearest object and holding it close to her breast. She thought this girl was going to hurt her, but instead, she was just standing there with her wide, bloody red eyes staring deep into her soul. This young girl was absolutely beautiful, a lovely creature with black hair reaching her back, a simple sailor school outfit, and pale flesh that matched her complexion so perfectly. While a little scared, she was stunned by the captivating beauty of this girl in front of her. "Y-you...you're beautiful," she started, a little shaky in her words. "Who are you?"

Then the girl began. "You summoned me. My name is Ai."

Really? It worked? She couldn't believe it even though she was seeing it for herself. It wasn't a baseless rumor after all. "Then you must be the Hell Girl. You must have gotten my message. Can you please help me? I don't know if you can understand, but something very important was stolen from me, and I can never get it back! Please can you..."

The girl then handed her a black straw doll without saying a word.

"What's this?"

"If you truly wish revenge, untie the scarlet thread from his neck. Pulling this thread binds you into a covenant with me. I will ferry the soul of your tormentor straight into the depths of Hell."

_I can just pull this thread and it'll be all over? _It had to have to been a joke. No way that she could just pull a thread from the neck of a straw doll and send the person to Hell. But then again, she was able to access this site without any problem. With that in mind, what was left to lose? She put her fingers around the thread and loosened it a bit before Hell Girl spoke again.

"However, once vengeance has been served, you will have to deliver up your end of the bargain," she said in the same tone of voice.

"My end? I don't understand."

"There always has to be a price. Once you die, your soul will also be bound to Hell."

_What?_ Was she serious? This had to have been some kind of cruel prank. How in the world would _she_ be sent to Hell? She didn't do anything so heinous that resulted in the condemnation of her soul to a place of eternal agony. Not that she could remember, anyway. Her mind began to race now like never before.

"You will never know the joys of Heaven. Your soul will be left to wander in a world of pain and agony."

She could picture it now. It was as vivid as the sun on a Saturday morning. She would be there, the unlucky victim upon millions of fractured souls begging for salvation, but already floundering pathetically in a fiery sea of lost hopes. She tried to run the other way, but she felt herself being pulled towards the fire. She tried to latch onto anything to save herself, but nothing was around. Clawing her way to safety was pointless. The result would be the same: burning alive, screaming and crying out for undying mercy, but receiving none. The flames angrily licked at her body, and she could feel it. The pain was unbearable. The sting was unfathomable, ten thousand times amplified above any pain she'd felt before. "Make it stop! Please make it stop! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" she cried out. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and there was nothing. No fire, no screaming souls, just her underneath her covers holding the black doll that Hell Girl gave her. "It wasn't real,"she panted. "But it sure felt real..." Looking up, she noticed that Hell Girl wasn't with her anymore.

"_And now..." _Ai's voice echoed, _"the decision rests with you."_

The next morning, Nikki suddenly found herself having a better than normal day. Her father left early for work today, forgetting to say goodbye. Her mother took her to school and left her with (_find really good Japanese cuisine_), she did fantastic in her classes today, surpassing her average potential for greatness in class – even though she wasn't able to get last night's homework in – and she managed to make a few new friends, much to her chagrin of breaking out of the quiet, shy mode she was so attentive towards leaning to at times. After school, Iiachi met her by the benches and they found themselves talking about the homework. Her mom came and picked both of them up and brought them back to the house. Hayumi loved seeing her daughter so full of life. Literally, she was beaming when she got in the car today. Whatever possessed her was sure doing its job. She watched Nikki run upstairs with Iiachi to get their homework done. "So, how does this work again?" Nikki said.

"It works like this. You move this digit here, multiply them, divide, then round off from there."

"You're so smart, you stinker!" Nikki smirked.

"It's all up here, baby. It's all up here."

"So you just...and...take this here and move it over here by the 25? Then multiply them and divide and just round off?" she repeated.

"Yep. That's all."

As they concentrated on their homework, the clock seemed to move faster. They got home at the usual 3:30, but upon completion, it was already 5:45. For two hours, they found themselves not only doing homework, but just palling around and making jokes. They laughed heartily. Nikki's life was already changing for the better. Her father hadn't been home ever since this morning, her mother was looking more lively than usual; maybe Hell Girl had already taken care of her problems. Maybe she didn't need to pull the string after all. Everything was looking as it was. "Man. We've been busy, huh? You think you should be getting home, Iiachi?"

Iiachi looked at his watch. Almost six o' clock! "You're right1 I'd better get home before mother realizes I'm gone," he said. He grabbed his belongings and raced out the door and down the stairs. "Mrs. S!" he called to the kitchen. "I'm ready to go!"

"Sure thing, Iiachi! I'll be ready in a minute!" Hayumi's voice responded. She stepped out of the kitchen, food stains scattered all over her yellow apron. She blushed and laughed, embarrassed that Iiachi had to see her so unprepared. "Sorry, Iiachi. Heh, heh! I was just preparing dinner. I'm such a clumsy housewife," she joked. "Would you like me to make you a sandwich or something before you leave?"

He laughed at Hayumi's pathetic state and just waved. "No, thank you. You don't have to. I'll just wait outside whenever you're ready to go."

"Okay, then," she said as she watched him depart. _Such a nice boy. _From the time she first met him, she could already see that he was going to be the perfect one for her daughter. She knew that it far too early into her life to be thinking about her daughter's sex life, even if it did make her cringe a bit, but they would make the perfect couple. She could see it now. Her and Iiachi in a church; Hayumi sitting in the front row, watching with a smile as wide as her face; her darling Nikki, a fully grown woman, walking down the aisle with Iiachi by her side. Mrs. Nikki Kakamodo. It sounded so tantalizing. She couldn't help but shed tears of joy for her. Leaving that alone, she pulled her apron off and hung it over the couch. Normally, she'd be much tidier than that, but she was so full of life, she could care less. She'd take care of it upon returning to the house. She quickly swapped into her running shoes and ran towards the door. "I'll be back, Nikki! I'm going to take Iiachi home and I'll be right back, okay?"

"All right. Bye, mom!"

Before she left, she had to make sure that he couldn't get in if he did manage to come home early. She fumbled her pockets, hoping that she had the key to the house because the door was already locked. _Good. I do have it. _She heaved a sigh of comfort before leading Iiachi to the car. "Ready, Iiachi?" she asked him.

"Yep," he responded as he hopped into the back seat.

"O-kay! Let's get you home," she cheered. She was as peppy as a cheerleader before the big game. What was wrong with her? Maybe it was the coffee she drank this morning. Maybe it was because her daughter was in such high spirits today. It could've the fact that she hadn't seen Ryan since this morning. Whatever the case, she was in high octane today. As she started the car, the engine whined a little before pumping to full velocity. Even their old Convertible was feeling the goodness of today. Today really _was _a day to rejoice. However, unbeknownst to her, as soon as she pulled out of the driveway, a silver car pulled in. She didn't even notice. She was too focused on the day ahead.

Ryan got out of his precious silver 2008 Suzuki and adjusted himself. He noticed Hayumi leaving the house. She must have been doing something important. _She must be going to one of her meetings again, _he thought. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to let it concern him. He just wanted to see his daughter. As he approached the door, he stopped and put a finger to his chin. "She'd never leave without locking up. Which means..." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a spare key, put it in the door, and turned it. He was inside the house. "Nice try, Hayumi. You're not the only one who has a key to the house."

Nikki stepped out of her room fearing the worst: that her father was home. He couldn't be home. He doesn't even have a key to the house? How in the world did he manage to get in? Her mother locked the door before she left. She always does. Her day just went from good to bad in a heartbeat. She ran back in her room and hid in the corner like before. She could hear him calling her name, asking for her to come out so they could talk. How did he know she was here? He didn't know that she was at school, tutoring with teachers? Obviously, he didn't fall for such a lie. The name calling grew louder quick. _No. Go away... Leave me alone. _There he was. Just outside of her door, calling for her. She began to sob, tears flowing like a waterfall. An entire world weighed itself upon her shoulders, raring to crush her fragile bones. The demon was waiting at the door, beckoning her to him. _Why won't you just go away? _Just then, there he was. In front of her face, looking down upon her lame form. "H-h-hi, daddy," she whimpered. Embarrassed and scared, she wiped the tears from her face.

"Hi, sweetie," he replied innocently. "Why are you crying?"

She wanted to tell him the truth, but words were squeezed tightly between a massive lump compacted in her throat. She was terrified of this man, this beast who wanted to devour her. He'd already done it once before. Why try to do it again? "I-I...I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Now was the time to improvise some kind of excuse, but what could she have possibly have come up with? She wasn't a good liar like her mother was. "I, um...I..." she stammered in between shakes.

"Come on, you. Let me dry those tears," he said. He picked her up and moved her to the bed. He carefully wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs and hugged her close. "Now tell me what you were blubbering about."

She watched him very carefully, taking note of every detail of every movement, every motion, every facial expression to see if he was really being honest. They were soft, gentle, caring, and unrestrained. Especially in his face. He appeared to be completely relaxed in his facial expressions. He appeared like he cared. Maybe he was being authentic, but she was just waiting for that line to be crossed. Being compliant with him, she answered with a lie that sounded like something her mom would say. "I got into a fight at school today. The person hurt me really bad."

"Did they, now? Now you didn't start the fight, did you?"

"No."

"Good. I don't want you getting into things that you're not supposed to. I won't have my little girl fighting anyone anytime soon. But if you have to defend yourself, you do that. Never be the one to start a fight. Be the one to end it."

There he went jabbering on and on with life lessons. Any life lesson that he had to give was nothing but a two-faced lie. Everything he said was a lie. He may have been a father, but he set a horrible example for children. "Okay, dad," she selfishly agreed. "How was your day?"

"Not bad. I really wanted to come to your school and introduce myself to everyone, but the office wanted to keep me hostage, so I couldn't. I did manage to talk to one of your teachers about your homework assignments. They said that you weren't doing so well in your classes, is that right?"

"Yes..."

He wasn't going to have her daughter some dropout. If her grades weren't applicable with her performance with computers – she knew more about the computer than he did – then there was a problem. He'd stay with her side in her classes if it meant better grades than low C's and high D's, no matter how embarrassed she'd be. He'd imagine she'd be pretty shaken up after that. "Well, I know you're much smarter than that, and if I have to hold your hand until you get all A's and B's, then I'll do that. Now, how about we take a look at that math homework," he said, reaching for her backpack.

She couldn't let him open her backpack! She couldn't let him see the little straw doll. Under no circumstances could he see it. He'd be so disappointed in her. Not like she wasn't just as disappointed in him. Her heart raced like a drum, pounding her chest with such speed and velocity that it hurt. "No, I'll do it," she demanded as she attempted to pull the backpack from his hands.

He arched an eyebrow and tugged on her backpack. "Nikki, let me see the bookbag."

"Let me do it, dad!"

"What's gotten into you? Nikki, give me the bookbag right now!"

"No!"

"Nikki!"

"No!"

"NOW!"

With one final jerk from Nikki, the backpack flew into her arms, pushing her backwards into the bed frame. A load of papers flow out onto the floor, along with the little straw doll. She rubbed her head and saw the doll on the ground with her scattered papers. More fear rising inside her forced her once thriving spirit to wane, growing number with every passing second. By the time she got up to reach for it, her father had already had it in his hands. She watched helplessly as he observed it. There wasn't much to the doll. Just the scarlet thread around its neck that she couldn't wait any longer to pull. "Dad, that's mine! Give it back!"

"What in the world is this thing? Some kind of voodoo doll? What is this thing, Nikki? Where in the hell did you get it? Tell me or else I'm telling your mom about this _and _your grades. Sneaking around taking things you don't know can get you in serious trouble. You're lucky the person you took this from didn't kill you."

It was far too late to hide it. There were no more chances. No more excuses. No more cheap attempts to conceal the truth from him. She lowered her head and revealed where the doll came from and its whereabouts at a place called Hell Correspondence. Nothing was held back, not even the super-secret details about her being sent to Hell herself when she died. Just when she thought her father would sooner believe and understand her words, he laughed aloud with the doll in his hands. He slid the doll in his pocket and put his arm around her shoulder.

"That's an amusing story, sweetheart. Sadly, I don't buy it. I don't believe that someone as sweet and innocent as you would do business with some shady bastards like that. Heh! Hell Correspondence. What a fairy tale. Obviously someone at school gave it to you and you wanted to keep it a secret from the family, right? You know good and well there are no secrets in this house, young lady. When your mom gets home, I'm going to tell her everything."

"No, don't! Please don't tell her!" she begged. Nikki wasn't one to crawl on her knees and beg, but now was an exception. This was so humiliating, so degrading that she would sink so low as to plead to her father, the same one who ruined her life five years ago, for anything. Was she losing her marbles? "Please don't tell mom!"

"Okay. I won't tell her. But you have to do something for me, though."

She remained silent. What was going through his head?

He stuffed the doll deeper in his pocket. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the bed. Placing her gently on the bed, he removed his suit jacket and moved his hand up and down her shoulder. "If you promise not to tell mommy about this...then I'll keep the doll a secret between the two of us. Just between father and daughter," he spoke in a soft voice.

_Not again... _she cried in her mind.

All she could do was sit there helplessly as he violated her body. Silent she sat as he caressed her face, trailing down to the nape of her neck as he kissed it gently. He kept on moving downward until he his her chest. Gently, he messaged her small, soft breasts. He pinched her nipples which causes her to wince a bit in pain. He continued on, being as soft and harmless as he possibly could. Tears began to fall from her face on the bedsheets. There he went again. Touching her inappropriately like she was free for him to use for his sick, perverted ways. She may have been, still, too young to truly comprehend the meaning of the word hate, but she could honestly say that she hated him with a passion. He got more comfortable with her body in his hands and decided to move south some more. Like a trained professional, he slid down her pants and worked with his fingers. His other hand messaged her breasts while he multitasked at her youthful person. She wanted to die, to vanish, to melt away into nothingness. She suddenly remembered the horrible night five years ago. She didn't understand what she was getting into at the time, but upon grasping the concept at such a young age, it left a sharp pang in her heart. _God...just stop...please...I can't... I feel weird. _

Just then, there was the clicking of a lock and the slamming of a car door. It was mom! It had to be! Now was her chance. She broke free from his grip and ran downstairs, sobbing wildly. "Mom! Mom!" she bawled as her mom came in the door. She gripped her mother's waist as tight as she could. "Mom...help..."

She hadn't expected to come back to a house with a sobbing daughter and Ryan's car in the driveway. "Nikki, honey, what's the matter?" she asked, concerned. Just then, there came footsteps from the stairs. She looked up and saw Ryan coming down with hands clenched. _Oh, God... He didn't. "_Ryan, what are you doing in the house? There's only one key."

"That's what you think," he countered. Smirking, he pulled out a second key from his pocket with the exact same design as Hayumi's. "I got a spare key made."

"A spare key? How come you never told me?"

"Oh, come on, Hayumi! You were convicting me on every single thing that I did. You became so vain that you wouldn't even let me in the house. You lock the door every time you leave. When I come home, wanting to rest from a long working day, what do I come home to? Nothing; because the door is locked, Hayumi! So what did I do? I take your one key to the house and have a friend make a copy for me for free. That's right, Hayumi. I'm more resourceful than you think," he spat. "Now, about your daughter, guess what I found in her bookbag today? I have no idea what it is, so I was hoping you'd know."

_What the? He promised he wouldn't tell!_ Now she just wanted to kill him. She had to get that doll from him and pull the string somehow. "A friend gave it to me."

"I think your daughter is a backdoor drug dealer. No wonder she's so quiet and restrained. There's something that she doesn't want to tell us. She should know that I try my damn hardest to put food on this table. I'm the only one who does it, anyway. What do you do? Go to meetings to help kids who'll sooner or later have to come back for more help. Some way to make a living if you don't even get paid for it. Now, back on the subject," – he pulled the doll from his pocket – "this little doll was hidden in your daughter's bookbag. She says that she got it from some website called Hell Link or something stupid like that, but I think it's about time you get off the pills and start being a real mother for once. Start disciplining your daughter, Hayumi!"

Heartbroken, she looked down at Nikki who was still crying on her stomach. _Get off the pills. How mature._ "You know what, Ryan? Leave. Just leave."

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me! Leave this house and get out of my life! You don't deserve to have a family like this. You look at yourself and think that you're not guilty. But you are. You're guilty of so many things that I can't even begin to count them. I think I should remind you what happened five years ago. You took Nikki, our daughter, and sexually molested her. At seven, Ryan! She was far too young to even comprehend the sexual act! What made it even worse was you took her virginity away. I just watched in horror as tears flowed from her fragile little face. I watched the blood gush from that spot. It was all over the tub, too. A disgusting ring all around the tub. That's right. Try to pretend all you want, but you know what you did. You deflowered her. Let me repeat – you..._deflowered_...our only daughter...Nikki Sakaguchi, Ryan Watashisho. I'll keep saying it until you get it through your thick fucking skull."

"Oh, come on, Hayumi-kun," he said, putting his arms around her. "You don't really want me to leave, do you?"

That was the last straw. Enough was enough of living under the same roof as that man. He attempted this continuous pipe dream like a bad habit. "Get your goddamn hands off me, Watashinsho," she growled under her breath.

"Hayumi-kun," he said again, "if you put me out..."

"Let go of me!" she screamed, elbowing him in the gut. "My name is Hayami Sakaguchi, proud mother of Nikki Sakaguchi! I hate when you call me that little pet name. I've always hated it. I'm not your toy to just do whatever you want with! I'm a woman, not a thing that can be used for your pleasure, and I deserved to be treated as such. Understand me, you pig?"

He didn't believe what she was saying was true. Wanting to leave him, being a strong woman; she said it with such pride and conviction. He admitted he liked her when she was angry. "Oh, Hayumi-kun..."

"Call me Hayumi-kun one more time and you're going to regret the day you married me. In fact, you know what?" Not caring about the consequences of her actions, she angrily removed her wedding ring and tossed it in his face. She was prepared for his onslaught of swearing and cursing for her not to leave. More than likely there was to be a "we" prefix lodged somewhere in his complaining. "Take this ring and shove it right up your ass. Or you can pawn it for some extra money to add to your fortress. I could care less. Just get out of our lives because I'm no longer am I happily married to Ryan Watashinsho. I am the happy widow, Hayumi Sakaguchi with her one daughter, Nikki Sakaguchi."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it really over? Was she really leaving? That ring toss finalized their separation, all right. How was that possible? All of a sudden, he began to see his world crumble. He'd be nothing without her. Even with all the money in the world, he'd be a banal excuse of a man without Hayumi by his side. Now he bore his fangs and pressed Hayumi against the wall by her wrists. "Listen to me, and listen good," he barked. "If you think you're leaving me, you're got another thing coming. Yes, I deflowered Nikki, but I had a reason for it. We were running low on money and the rent was due in a week. We didn't have enough to pay it. Even when we pooled our money together, it still wasn't enough. I promised that I'd find some way to get the money to pay the rent and get us out of that trashy apartment. So while I was out, I got offered a half a million to provide him with a video recording of something, as he put it, "carnal and luxurious." With that I place, I thought to myself, _Why not taboo? _From there, I got a video camera and all the necessary elements. The perfume was imported from overseas. There you have it. I did it, but I had no choice. We got out of that horrible place and now we have this beautiful house. You don't regret _that, _do you? I didn't because we did to together. That's right. _We _did it."

"Let go of me, you sick bastard!" she demanded, kicking at his shins.

Nikki couldn't just stand there and that man – she didn't want to call him 'daddy' any longer – cause harm to her mother. She had to get that doll and pull the thread. Once that was done, all of this would be over for good. "Let go of my mommy! Right now!" she yelled.

He knew now that he had power over the whole family. He was the master and the commander. If Hayumi was threatening to leave him, then it would only propel him to keep her by her side longer. He didn't mind at all getting a little violent. He turned and saw Nikki trying to stand against him. What in the world was she going to do? A mere twelve-year-old was about as harmless as a flea to him. "Shut up, you little brat. You want to be in the same spot as your mother here? I suggest you be a good girl and be quiet. Got it? Or is this what you want?" he mocked as he pulled the doll from his pocket. "You want this? Come on, try to get it. Oop, too small? Sorry, ya' can't have it! You shouldn't have been such a bad little girl with daddy."

Hayumi had officially had all she could stand with that man. With one arm free, she punched him in the gut and smacked him across the face. The smack was loud and heavy as he fell hard to the ground. The doll fell from his hands into Nikki's. Now was her chance to pull it. Before she had a chance to, Ryan got back up and forced Nikki out of his way. "You fuckin' bitch...you'll pay for that!" he cursed. He charged at her like a wild animal and punched her square in the jaw. She fell to her knees and cried.

"Leave my mommy _alone!_" she shrieked. Without hesitation, she pulled the thread from the doll's neck.

Suddenly, everything got quiet. All movement ceased for a moment. Only the wind could be heard blustering outside. The wind broke through the windows and encircled the doll, causing it to disappear into thin air. Then a deep male voice echoed loudly, "Your grievance shall be avenged."

"What was that? Who said that?" Ryan yelled. Realizing that the doll had fallen from his hand, he targeted Nikki. Upset at everything, he charged her with the same ferocity as when he charged Hayumi. When he threw a punch, she suddenly vanished into thin air. Only an afterimage remained of her. "What the hell? How did she? Hayumi, what's going on?" He turned back around, paranoia slightly taking him over. The house suddenly disappeared and all of a sudden, he found himself at a strip club. Hayumi was there behind him. "Hayumi! Tell me what's going on here. First we were in our house, now we're in some random strip club."

Little did he know, this wasn't the Hayumi that was screaming and threatening to leave him. This was a completely different Hayumi. She was gentle and submissive to him. She approached him silently and lead him towards a single chair in the corner. Right next to the bar. He had suspected that he was going to get a lap dance from his very special wife, but instead, there came a seven Nikki in a crimson dancer's brassiere and a thin miniskirt. He watched in horror, yet serene amusement, as Nikki danced sensually around him, waving her petite little ass in his face. What was going on? Was this some kind of nightmare? This couldn't have been real. The air was acrid and heavy with cigarettes and beer. He could barely breathe or make out anything in front of him. His vision continued to fade around him as the smoke made him dizzy. He struggled his hardest not to give into this temptation. "Disgusting!" he gagged. Just then, he saw Nikki reach for his pants zipper. She began to pull it down before she paused and said in a hypnotic tone, "Rape me, daddy."

"What are you talking about? I'd never do that! I'm your father! That's disgusting! How could any parent want to do that to their own child?"

Suddenly, there came more voices out of nowhere. This time, there were three of them. Each one was different. One sounded like a teenage boy, the other sounded like a beautiful, lovely woman, and the other sounded old and deep. The last voice sounded like the voice who uttered that disturbing phrase. "Your grievance shall be avenged," or something like that. But whatever the case, it sounded like they were convicting him jokingly, mocking him and his sedentary lifestyle. "Hey! Cut it out!" he demanded . He must have been having a nightmare. No child would willingly request of their parent to rape them. "Get Nikki away from me!"

"More, you say? Would you like a personalized check with that?" the teenage male voice said.

Suddenly, a torrent of half naked Nikkis emerged from the shadows, all of them repeating, "Rape me, daddy. Rape me, daddy. Rape me, daddy. Rape me, daddy." All of this wasn't real. It was all fake. He was obviously dreaming – no dream felt this real – and it would all go away if he closed his eyes, it'd all be over. After closing his eyes tight and blocking out all the horrid sounds and otherworldly noises, he opened them again and he saw that the situation only got worse. There were thousands of half naked Nikki's surrounding him, each of them repeating in rhythm the same thing. His heart was stuck in his throat now and he was sweating bullets. If this was real, what was he to do? Where was he to run? _There has to be a way out. There's always a way out of a situation that seems hopeless, _he thought.

"You're right. There _is_ a way out," said the deep voice again. The voice revealed itself as an old man dressed in a hat and a brown loose fit jacket. "Just confess your sins and you can make this go away."

Now the other two voices revealed themselves to Ryan. First was a teenage boy, hair draped over his right eye, dressed in an olive green and white hooded sweatshirt. Next, just as he suspected from the voice, a beautiful, rather thin woman draped in a long blue dress. "Nah, I don't think he wants to, Wanyuudou. He's too preoccupied about other things, like how to get his greedy little mitts on more money," said Ichimokuren.

"So you take advantage of your own family just to earn a quick buck," spoke None Onna. "Really. I've seen a lot of people who do sick things for money, but you're one of the few who'd stoop so low as to lower your standards to your own child. What a morbid fool you are."

Who were these people that were reminding him of the past? He already knew what he did was wrong. Did they have to rub it in his face? He learned his lesson. What he did was completely against the law and he swore that he'd never do it again for as long as he lived. Yet they still rejected his pleas. "Please let me go! I know what I did was wrong, but I did it for the good of the family! We were low on money and I was trapped in a spiral that I couldn't escape from. I didn't mean it! I love Nikki as well as Hayumi!"

"I'm just having a hard time believing you," Ichimokuren laughed. "You're not, what's the word, "sincere" enough."

"Sincere? Sincere? What are you talking about, you assholes? I've told you the truth and the whole truth! I violated Nikki Sakaguchi and I'm sorry for it, all right? Now let me go home!" he yelled at them, a vein bulging through his forehead. "Let me see Hayumi-kun!"

Just then, Hayumi appeared in front of him, a seething look of fury on her face. Her aquamarine eyes bled rage as red as blood. She huffed and puffed wildly as her fists clenched tighter and tighter. "What did you just call me, you fucking pig?"

"I think he finally understands the error of his ways," Wanyuudou joked.

"Hmph. Yeah, right."

"Mistress, he's all yours."

Just then, Hayumi, with blackened rage flowing through her body, smashed him in the face, causing him to fall down into the black void. For some reason, he couldn't make out an ending. All he saw was the light above him fading away into nothingness. Suddenly, another female voice spoke to him. This time, a strange icy trail crawled ominously up his back. This was no ordinary voice. This one was horrible, life-changing, absolutely soul-crushing in the worst ways ever conceived. If the Devil had a female voice, this would be the voice he'd portray. He'd never been so scared of anything in his entire life. Looking behind him, he saw a young girl wearing a flowery black kimono. He had no idea that this was Hell Girl. "O pitiful shadow lost in the darkness; bringing torment and pain to others; O damned soul wallowing in your sin. Perhaps it is time to die..."

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!"

All of a sudden, almost in the blink of an eye, in the time frame of a single second, he found himself lying, face up, on a ferry in the middle of a bleak ocean with blue fire blazing gently and a purple light in the form of a flower in the deep violet sky. He couldn't believe this was happening. Wherever he was, it wasn't Tokyo, and it certainly wasn't his home. This had to have been a dream. This place felt cold and lonesome. Empty and desolate with no feeling of love or compassion. Was this Hell? He turned his head and saw the girl in the black kimono. "Hey! What are you doing? Where am I and why am I on a boat in the middle of nowhere? You there, little girl! Answer me! Where am I?"

"Do not worry. You will know the whereabouts of your location very soon," she spoke plainly to him.

All of a sudden, another group of Nikkis rose from the water and cuddled around him. "You're going to Hell, daddy. Isn't that fun?"

Hell? He put aside the theatrics and made it clear to himself. If he was really going to Hell, what would happen to his money? What about his job? What about Hayumi and Nikki? Who would take care of them? Upon coming to the conclusion that he was helpless, he broke down in tears and screamed into the wind. "No! Anywhere but Hell! Please turn the boat around! Please! I don't want to go to Hell!" he begged her. She just stared at him silently and continued to row the ferry. "No! NO!"

"This is vengeance. So I am to ferry you...to Hell."

_~Two months later~_

All Hayumi could do was sigh as she held her daughter by her side. She watched with clenched tears as the "FOR SALE" sign was placed on the patio. She wanted so much so to keep the house, but she didn't have enough money in her savings to make the payments every month. No matter how much it pained her to give up that lovely house, she knew it was the right thing to do. It was better to bless this beautiful home to a deserving family who had the money to afford to make the payments, how expensive they were. She closed her eyes and shook her head in contentment.

"So you're putting the house up for sale?" Nikki asked.

"Yep. I'd love to keep it, and I know Ryan would've loved keeping it, too, but I just don't have the money to pay the bills every month. I would have enjoyed keeping this house for one more month, but I'm sure I'd go broke before then," she chuckled.

Nikki joined her in a laugh. "I miss Yaomi Charter," she said. After Ryan mysteriously disappeared, she had to be pulled out of school because her mother couldn't afford to keep her in the system. Hayumi wished she had more money in her account, then they wouldn't have been able to keep the house, but Nikki would be able to keep attending Yaomi Charter. Oh, well.

"I know you do, Nikki. It was a good school. If only..." she lamented. "If only."

Just then, there came a voice from a few blocks down. The voice belonged to Iiachi. He wasn't wearing his trademark black dress pants or his suit jacket. Instead, he was sporting slacks, a red jersey, and running shoes. "Hey, Nikki, Mrs. S."

"Hey, Iiachi," Nikki responded happily. "How are you?"

"Good. I haven't seen you around the school lately."

"I kind of got pulled out because my mom couldn't afford it," she chuckled.

"Aw, that's a shame. Hey, you want to go to Nayagumi Park today? We don't have school. Summer vacation. Besides, it's beautiful out."

"Ooh! Can we, mom?"

Now that Ryan was gone, she didn't have to worry about keeping a leash around her daughter. Well, a short one, at least. She still needed to have some kind of parental guidance, no matter what. "Sure. I'll come to get you in a couple hours, sweetheart," she said. Gently, she kissed her on the forehead and let her run free.

"Thanks! I love you, mom," she said, hugging her mother's waist.

"I love you, too, Nikki. You have fun." She watched in admiration as Nikki ran off, hand in hand with Iiachi. A new feeling of freedom, of independency, rose inside her. Heaven's angels were singing on silver clouds, blaring gracefully the anthem of a newly rejuvenated life for Hayumi Sakaguchi. The warm sun projected an aura from her. She felt otherworldly, transcendent, revitalized for the world ahead. Never again would she dream of the future, hoping to realize the perfect life that probably wouldn't come to fruition. She would keep focus on the life in front of her, live for today, embrace every single moment and sing joyfully at the top of her lungs a song of freedom, of resurrection. A shame she wasted her life away with that man. Though some part of her wanted to stay with him just so she could attempt to change him for the better, she knew deep down it wasn't meant to be. As she watched Nikki disappear around the next block with Iiachi, she just kept thinking to herself, _There goes my little girl on the path to becoming a woman. Just like her mother. Make me proud, Nikki. I know you can overcome any obstacle if you put your mind to it. You're my greatest blessing, and my greatest inspiration._

"_Nikki Sakaguchi"_

_Your grievance shall be avenged._

**_The End_**


End file.
